Pet door system having semi-flexible pet door

ABSTRACT

A pet door system is provided including a casing configured to attach the pet door system to a building and a flexible door attached to the casing. In some embodiments, the door is segmented and comprises a plurality of interlocking segments that are rotatable with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the pet door system further includes a rotating cylinder attached to the flexible door and rotatably connected to the casing and a motor comprising a gear head, where the gear head is attached to the rotating cylinder, such that when the motor is activated, the gear head is rotatable in a first direction to wind the flexible door around the rotating cylinder. In some embodiments, the pet door system may be operated by a pet-worn collar and/or may be remotely controlled via a mobile device.

BACKGROUND

Conventional pet doors generally fall into the categories of manual orelectronic. Manual pet doors may further be divided into types that useflexible flaps (such as vinyl flaps) and others that use rigid flaps(such as transparent hard plastic or metal flaps). Manual pet door flapsallow a pet to freely move in and out. However, manual pet doors withrigid flap types have the disadvantage that they may injure the petshould the pet go part way through the opening and then back up. In sucha case case, the rigid flap may pinch the animal's back or tail.Flexible flaps do not suffer this deficiency; however, they aredifficult to seal because the flexible flap is unable to applycompressive force on a peripheral seal and are easily moved by windcreating gaps between the flap and the casing of the flap allowing airto draft into the home. In addition, such manual flaps are not exclusiveto a particular pet or pets. Wild animals or even human intruders may beable to enter through the pet door, providing a notable security risk.

Electronic pet doors typically employ rigid flaps or panels and areoperated by a pet worn device that may either unlock the flap, requiringthe pet to push it open or it may engage a motor to lift a panel, thusrequiring no effort on the part of the pet. An example of a manufacturedmotor-driven pet door is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. RE41629 to thecurrent inventor, embodiments of which disclose a pet door systemoperated by a pet-worn activation device and a motor which lifts a doorpanel by means of a cable and spool. Some embodiments of this inventionalso include a locking mechanism to prevent the panel from being movableby an intruder.

Motor-driven pet doors are generally well sealed because the rigid dooris typically guided within grooves that prevent air from leaking fromone side of the flap to the other. However, these units can require agreat amount of vertical space since the door panel must be lifted abovethe opening resulting in a space requirement of twice the door panelheight plus the space required by the casing and drive mechanism. Thisspace requirement limits the locations in which the pet door can beinstalled.

A purpose of the inventive pet door system is to provide an improved petdoor system including a flexible pet door that addresses one or more ofthe above problems. For example, embodiments of the present inventionare directed to a manual pet door which is well sealed against draftsand which poses no risk of injury to the pet should it decide to back upafter moving part way through the opening. Other embodiments aredirected to a motor-driven pet door that does not require a significantamount of space above the opening.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the current invention employ a door made of interlockingsegments which may rotate about a horizontal (or substantiallyhorizontal) axis relative to each other. The door segments are generallylong and narrow, running along the width of the pet door opening. Theyare therefore flexible in the vertical direction (or a substantiallyvertical direction) and rigid or substantially rigid in the horizontaldirection (or substantially horizontal direction). The interlockingdesign of the segments prevents air flow between the segments. In someembodiments, the door segments can be flexible in the horizontaldirection (or substantially horizontal direction).

In some embodiments, the interlocking, segmented design is employed in amotor-driven pet door by allowing the segments door to wind around amotor-driven cylinder, saving significant space above the pet dooropening as compared to conventional doors.

In other embodiments, the pet door works as a flap to allow entry andexit of the pet. In these embodiments, the vertical flexibility can alsoallow the door to roll backward should the pet decide to back up,eliminating the danger of pinching. In addition, the horizontal rigidityof the door segments allows compressive pressure to be applied toperipheral seals along the sides of the opening while the flap is heldin place by magnets sized to apply force sufficient to hold the flap ina closed position against the force of wind, but easily overcome by theforce of a small animal (such as a pet) pressing against the flap toallow it to pass through the opening.

Embodiments of the pet door system include a casing configured to attachthe pet door system to a building and a segmented door attached to thecasing. The segmented door includes a plurality of interlocking segmentsthat are rotatable with respect to each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom and will be best understood by reference to the following detaileddescription reviewed in conjunction with the description of embodimentsby means of the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a partially cut-away perspective view of anembodiment of a pet door system including a segmented door.

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a side end portion of anindividual door segment of the segmented door of FIG. 1, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 2B illustrates a perspective view of side end portions ofindividual door segments of the segmented door connected together,according to the embodiment of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C illustrates an end view of the side end portions of theindividual door segments of FIG. 2B, in which the individual doorsegments have been rotated.

FIG. 2D illustrates an exploded perspective view of the individual doorsegment of FIG. 2A and its respective end caps.

FIG. 3A illustrates a perspective view of a side portion of anindividual door segment of the segmented door of FIG. 1, according toanother embodiment.

FIG. 3B illustrates an exploded perspective view of the individual doorsegment of FIG. 3A and its respective end caps.

FIG. 4A is a sectional front view of a coil chamber of the pet doorsystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional view of the coil chamber when thesegmented door is closed and not wrapped around a rotating cylinder.

FIG. 4C shows a cross-sectional view of the coil chamber when thesegmented door is open and wrapped around the rotating cylinder.

FIG. 5 is a sectional front view of a locking mechanism for the pet doorsystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operation of the pet door system.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a control panel on the pet doorsystem.

FIG. 8 illustrates a partially cut-away perspective view of a secondembodiment of the pet door system.

FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the pet door system of FIG.8.

FIG. 10 is a sectional front view of a locking mechanism of the pet doorsystem of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention describe a pet door systemincluding a flexible door. These embodiments may include a novel petdoor design comprised of interlocking pivoting strips/bar-like segmentswhich provide flexibility along the door's vertical axis whilemaintaining rigidity or substantial rigidity along its longitudinalaxis. The door may be sealed at its ends with a compression seal (e.g.,an end cap), which may be compressed by reason of the door'slongitudinal rigidity.

In some embodiments, the flexible segmented door is motor driven forfully automatic operation and may be movable in an upward direction inresponse to a remote signal, such as an ultrasonic transmitter worn by apet. During its upward movement, the segmented door may be rolled up orcoiled around a rotating cylinder. The flexible nature of the doorallows it to be wound. Because the segmented door can be wound into aroll, these embodiments of the inventive pet door system require lessvertical height than conventional pet door systems having a rigid petdoor panel that translates upwardly. In other embodiments, the segmenteddoor is configured to swing open and is moveable in a forward andbackward direction so that a pet may physically push the flexiblesegmented door in order to move through the pet door. Embodiments of thepresent invention may also include a novel locking mechanism to preventthe entry of intruders through the pet door.

FIG. 1 illustrates a partially cut-away perspective view of anembodiment of the pet door system. The pet door system includes asegmented door 1 that comprises multiple individual door segments 2. Thedoor segments 2 are rigid or substantially rigid and run along thehorizontal length of the door 1. In other embodiments, the door segments2 need not be horizontally rigid and may be flexible in the horizontaldirection. The segments 2 have interlocking shapes, such can be seen inFIGS. 2A-3B. The interlocking shape of the door segments 2 allow thesegments 2 to rotate about a horizontal axis (or a substantiallyhorizontal direction) relative to each other, permitting the door 1 tobe flexible in the vertical (or substantially vertical) direction, whilemaintaining relative rigidity in the horizontal (or substantiallyhorizontal) direction. The door segments 2 can be made of a rigidmaterial, such as an extruded or molded plastic, aluminum or other metalor resin. Each of the door segments 2 have a length between their twoside end portions that is equal to the width of the segmented door 1.

The segmented door 1 is housed in a casing 7 along with all otherelements of the pet door system. In this embodiment, the casing 7surrounds the entire segmented door 1. However, in other embodiments,the casing 7 may only partially surround the door 1. The casing 7includes two outside frames or bezels 9 a, 9 b that attach to oppositesides of a door or wall of a building (e.g., as the door or wall of ahouse or apartment) and the bezels 9 a, 9 b are shaped such that theyinterlock and can be fixed together, for example by an attachment means,such as screws 12. The bezels 9 a, 9 b define a door opening 37 intowhich the segmented door 1 is movably mounted. The casing 7 alsoincludes guiding grooves 8 which guide and hold the segmented door 1vertically along its upward/downward path when the segmented door 1 isopening and closing. The guiding grooves 8 also hold the door 1 in avertical position when closed and prevent the door from forward andbackward movement out of the casing 7. Casing 7 may be made of woodmoldings, or can be made from aluminum or other metals or plasticmaterials.

The casing 7 includes a coil chamber 13 that houses the segmented door 1when the door 1 is in an open position. However, when the segmented door1 is in the open position, a lower portion of the door 1 may still beheld in the guiding groove 8 to facilitate closing the door 1. A motor43 (seen in FIG. 4) and a gear head 3 are within the coil chamber 13 anddrive the rotation of a rotating cylinder 4 to open the segmented door1. The gear head 3 may gear down the motor 43 to allow the rotatingcylinder 4 to rotate more slowly with a higher torque. When the gearhead 3 and motor 43 are operating to open the door 1, the rotatingcylinder 4 rotates (in this embodiment, the rotating cylinder 4 rotatesin a clockwise direction when viewed as shown in FIG. 1) causing thesegmented door 1 to wrap around the rotating cylinder 4. The wrapping ofthe segmented door 1 around the rotating cylinder 4 is guided by a guide5. The inside surface of the guide 5 may be lined with a seal 6, forexample a seal 6 made of felt, to prevent the door 1 from rubbingagainst the guide 5, to reduce noise, and/or to inhibit leakage of airfrom one side of door 1 to the other. The felt seal 6 may includeseveral felt strips, as shown for example in FIG. 4A. In otherembodiments, the felt seal 6 may include a single or multiple pieces offelt or may instead include flexible fluorocarbon (Teflon) pads.

When the gear head 3 and motor 43 are operating to close the door, therotating cylinder 4 rotates (in this embodiment, in a counterclockwisedirection when viewed as shown in FIGS. 1) and the segmented door 1unwinds from the rotating cylinder 4 and lowers while being guided inthe guiding grooves 8 to close the door 1.

The gear head 3 and motor 43 may be powered by electrical current fromthe building into which the pet door system is installed. For example,the pet door system may have a power plug 10 that electrically connectsthe gear head 3 and motor 43 to the building's electrical power system.The pet door system may also include a battery 11 that provides back-uppower to the pet door system when electrical power is not being receivedfrom the building. However, in other embodiments, the battery 11 may notbe included or the pet door system may be entirely powered by batterypower without the pet door system needing to be connected to thebuilding's electrical power system.

The pet door system may include a locking mechanism to lock thesegmented door 1 in the closed position in order to prevent or hinderintruders from forcing the door 1 open. The locking mechanism may be asolenoid control, for example the solenoid lock described with referenceto FIG. 5 below, an electromechanical lock, or a mechanical lock,including, for example, the mechanical lock described with reference toFIG. 10 below, that is capable of locking the segmented door 1 when thedoor 1 is at the bottom of the door opening 37 (i.e., in the closedposition). The pet door system may also include a control panel 70,described in detail with respect to FIG. 7 below.

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a side end portion of anindividual door segment 2 of the segmented door 1, according to oneembodiment. The individual segment 2 includes a curved recess 23 at afirst end 21 and a curved projection 24 at an opposite second end 22.The curved recess 23 defines two free legs 25, 26 at opposite sides ofthe recess 23. The free legs 25, 26 each have an angled wall 27, 28 atthe first end 21 that flank the curved recess 23. The curved recess 23is shaped and sized to complement the shape and size of the curvedprojection 24. In this embodiment, the curved projection 24 and recess23 have a cylindrical shape; however, other curved shapes may also beimplemented. At the portion of the curved projection 24 farthest thesecond end 22, there are two grooves 30, 31 that are shaped and sized tocorrespond to the ends of the two free legs 25, 26. The grooves 30, 31each include an angled wall 32, 33. The curved projection 24 may alsohave a hollow portion 36, as shown in FIG. 2A, or the curved projectionmay be solid. The curved recess 23 and curved projection 24 are shapedsuch that when the curved projection 24 of a first individual doorsegment is installed within the curved recess 23 of a second individualdoor segment, as shown in FIG. 2B, the two door segments are connectedto each other and the curved projection 24 of one segment 2 a can rotatein the curved groove 23 of a second segment 2 b.

FIG. 2B illustrates a perspective view of side end portions ofindividual door segments 2 a, 2 b of the segmented door 1 connectedtogether. The curved projection 24 of the first door segment 2 a isinstalled in the curved recess 23 of the second door segment 2 b. Inthis installed configuration, the two door segments 2 a, 2 b areconnected such that the first door segment 2 a will not disconnect fromthe second door segment 2 b in a vertical direction; however, the firstdoor segment 2 a and the second door segment 2 b can rotate along ahorizontal axis with respect to one another. Gaps 34, 35 define theamount by which the first door segment 2 a and the second door segment 2b can rotate with respect to one another.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the first door segment 2 a can rotate clockwise inan amount equal to the gap 35, such that the gap 35 disappears. On theopposite side, the gap 34 will increase by the amount by which the gap35 is reduced. If the first segment 2 a is rotated counterclockwise, gap34 will be reduced and gap 35 will increase in size. The grooves 30, 31of the first segment 2 a may be sized such that when the first doorsegment 2 a is rotated to its fullest degree in either the clockwise orcounterclockwise direction, the free legs 25, 26 of the second doorsegment 2 b will still be partially in the grooves 30, 31 to prevent thefirst and second segments 2 a, 2 b from disconnecting. However, thisfeature is not necessary in all embodiments and in some embodiments, thefree legs 25, 26 may not be in the grooves 30, 31 when the first doorsegment 2 a is rotated to its fullest degree, as shown in FIG. 2C.

The door segments 2 a, 2 b can be connected together by sliding thecurved projection 22 of the first door segment 2 a into the curvedgroove 21 of the second door segment 2 b through the side end portion ofthe first door segment 2 a. Because the door segments have the sameshape, manufacturing costs can be keep low because only a single shapeneed be extruded during manufacturing. However, while the segmented door1 is described as having segments 2 with respect to this embodiment, thedoor 1 need not be segmented as long as the door is sufficientlyflexible to allow winding of the door 1 around the rotating cylinder 4,such as by having a door made of a flexible vinyl or plastic flap.

As shown in FIG. 2D, the individual segment 2 may have end caps 50 thatcan be attached to opposite side ends of the individual segment 2 afterthe individual segments 2 are connected to form the segmented door 1.The end caps 50 prevent the individual segments 2 from sliding laterallyrelative to one another by preventing the curved projection 24 of oneindividual segment 2 from sliding relative to the curved recess 23 intowhich it is inserted. In other words, the end caps 50 act as peripheralseals that apply compressive pressure to hold the individual segments 2of the door 1 together. The end caps 50 have an opening 51 (e.g., a hole51) that aligns with the hollow portion 36 of the projection 24. The endcaps 50 may be affixed to the individual segments via an attachmentmeans, such as a screw 52 that connects the end cap 50 to the individualsegment 2 by passing through the hole 51 into the hollow portion 36 ofthe projection 24.

However, end caps 50 are may not be necessary in all embodiments. In theembodiment of FIG. 1, lateral movement of the segments is substantiallylimited during operation by the grooves 8; thus, strong, compressing endcaps may not be necessary. In some embodiments, a flexible tape can beadhered to the inside wall of the segmented door of FIG. 1 (the insidewall being the wall of the door 1 between the side ends that is woundclosest to the rotating cylinder 4 during opening of the door 1). Such aflexible tape can be thin enough not to inhibit winding of the doorduring use and may prevent lateral movement of the segments 2. In someembodiments, the flexible tape may be adhered to the portion of theinside wall that is in the grooves 8.

FIG. 3A illustrates a perspective view of a side portion of anindividual segment 102 of the segmented door, according to anotherembodiment. The individual segment of FIG. 3A is similar to theindividual door segments 2 a, 2 b of FIGS. 2A-2C, except that it furtherincludes a hollow channel 103 within the individual segment 102 thatcauses the individual segment 102 to have an elongated shape. Variousshapes can be used to define the shape of the hollow channel 103. Whilethe hollow channel 103 is beneficial by providing an elongated shapewithout substantially increasing the weight of the door segment, otherembodiments with an elongated shape may have a solid or partially hollowportion instead. However, the elongated shape of the door segment 102increases the winding radius of the segmented door 1 as it is woundaround the rotating cylinder 4. Thus, for the embodiment of FIG. 1,while the door segment 102 may be used, it is beneficial to have doorsegments with low height profiles to reduce the size of rotatingcylinder 4 and hence the size of the coil chamber 13 needed to house thedoor 1 when it is in the open position.

FIG. 3B illustrates end caps 150, which are similar to the end caps 50shown in FIG. 2D.

FIG. 4A is a sectional front view of the coil chamber 13 of the pet doorsystem. In the rotating cylinder 4 in the coil chamber 13, the gear head3 and motor 43 is held in position by bushings 40, 41 and motor shaft42. The gear head 3 and motor 43 are rigidly fixed to the rotatingcylinder 4 and are rotatably attached to the motor shaft 42. The gearhead 3 includes internal bearings to allow it to rotate relative to themotor shaft 42. The rotating cylinder 4 can include ball bearings 44which allows cylinder 4 to rotate relative to guide 5. . The rotatingcylinder 4 also contains coiled wiring 45 electrically connected to themotor 43 in order to power the motor 43 to drive the gear head 3. Thecoiled wiring 45 may include a casing that houses multiple individualwires, such as two wires as shown in FIG. 4A, that are attached to themotor 43. The coiled wiring has a sufficient number of coils to accountfor the number of times the rotating cylinder 4 will rotate in order toopen and close the segmented door 1 so that the wiring 45 does not breakduring operation. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 4A, the coiledwiring 45 is coiled 2.5 to three times. In some embodiments, the coiledwiring 45 will uncoil as the door 1 is opening, resulting in the wiring45 being uncoiled when the door 1 is fully open. In other embodiments,the opening of the door 1 will cause the wiring 45 to coil, and thewiring 45 will be uncoiled when the door 1 is closed.

FIGS. 4B and 4C show cross-sectional views of the coil chamber 13 whenthe segmented door 1 is closed and not wrapped around the rotatingcylinder 4 and when the segmented door 1 is open and wrapped around therotating cylinder 4, respectively. The rotating cylinder 4 has apartially spiral shape that complements the shape of the segmented door1 when the door 1 is wound around the rotating cylinder 4, as best seenin FIG. 4C. The shape of the rotating cylinder 4 allows the smoothwinding and unwinding of the segmented door 1 during operation. Therotating cylinder 4 also includes a wall 46 with a projection 47 thathas the same or substantially the same shape and size as the projection24 of the individual segments 2. The projection 47 attaches to the topindividual segment 2 of the segmented door 1 to attached the segmenteddoor 1 to the rotating cylinder 4.

FIG. 5 is a sectional front view of a solenoid locking mechanism for thepet door system. The solenoid locking mechanism includes a solenoid 55having a linear actuator 56 that moves linearly within the solenoid 2and that can project from the solenoid 55 into the hollow portion 36 ofone of the door segments 2, acting as a locking pin when fully extended.The solenoid may be placed at any location along the length of the door1 at which it has access to one of the hollow portions 36. In thisembodiment, the solenoid is located in the casing 7 below the coilchamber 5.

The solenoid 55 may be electrically connected to a switch 62 (asdiscussed in FIG. 6 below) that indicates when the door 1 is closed,such that the solenoid 55 is automatically activated to lock the door 1when the door 1 is in the closed position. When activated, a magneticcoil within the solenoid 55 causes the linear actuator 56 to moveoutwardly from the solenoid 55, causing the linear actuator 56 toadvance through an opening in the casing 7 and into the hollow portion36 of the adjacent door segment 2, thereby locking the door 1.Alternatively, one of the segments 2 may be made to be shorter than theother segments forming a gap into which the linear actuator 56 may moveto lock the door 2. The solenoid locking mechanism can be configuredsuch that the locked position, when the linear actuator 56 is projectinginto the adjacent hollow portion 36 of the door 1, is the defaultposition of the locking mechanism and it requires power to move thelinear actuator 56 to an unlocked position.

The solenoid 55 may also be electrically connected to a sensor orsensors 60 (as discussed in FIG. 6 below) that are triggered when thedoor 1 is going to open. The solenoid 55 will remain in the lockedposition until the sensors 60 are triggered. When the sensors 60 aretriggered, they will activate the magnetic coil within the solenoid 55to cause the linear actuator 56 to be retracted from the hollow portion36 of the door segment 2, thus unlocking the door 1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operation of the pet door system. As shownin FIG. 6, the pet door system includes sensors 60 that are capable ofdetecting a signal from a device worn by an animal, such as a petcollar. The sensors 60 may detect ultrasonic signals, for example,ultrasonic signals output by an ultrasonic transmitter worn by adomestic animal as described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. RE41,629, theentirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. In otherembodiments, the sensors 60 may detect magnetic, radio, such asBluetooth or RFID, or other signals that correspond to a signaltransmitted by a transmitter located with the domestic animal that willbe using the pet door system. When the sensors 60 detect a signal (S1),the sensor will activate the solenoid 55 to unlock the segmented door 1(S2) and will activate the motor 43 to drive the gear head 3 to rotate(S3), in this example, in a clockwise direction. The gear head 3 in turncauses the rotating cylinder 4 to rotate clockwise (S4). As the rotatingcylinder 4 rotates, the segmented door 1 is wound around the rotatingcylinder 4 (S5), removing the segmented door 1 from the door opening 37and thus, opening the door 1 (S6). The guide 5 helps guide thepositioning the segmented door 1 around the rotating cylinder 4 as it isbeing wound. When the segmented door 1 reaches a position in which thedoor 1 is fully open (e.g., the open position) (S7), a switch 61 will betriggered (S8). The triggered switch 61 will signal the motor 43 to stopdriving the gear head 3 (S9).

The door 1 will continue to remain in the open position for as long asthe sensors 60 are receiving the signal. In some embodiments, the doorcan be programmed to remain open for a predetermined amount of timeafter the signal is lost, for example, for an amount of time determinedby the user of the pet door system. Once the signal is no longer beingreceived by the sensors 60 (S10) and any additional predetermined amountof time has passed, the motor 43 will be activated and will drive thegear head 3 in a direction counter to the direction used to open thedoor 1 (S11), in this case, in a counterclockwise direction. This inturn causes the rotating cylinder 4 to rotate counterclockwise (S12),the segmented door 1 to begin to unwind from the rotating cylinder 4(S13) and the door 1 to close (S14). The guide 5 helps guide theunwinding of the segmented door 1. As a certain point during unwinding,the gravitational force acting on the portion of the segmented door 1that has been unwound may pull the door 1 to unwind at a rate greaterthan the rotational velocity of the motor-driven gear head 3. To avoidthis, and avoid the segmented door 1 from accelerating downwardly andpotentially “slamming” shut, the current received by the motor 43 can berestricted, impeding the counter electromagnetic force and slowing thedownward movement of the segmented door 1. An optical shaft encoder maybe used to provide information as to where the motor shaft 42 and hencethe door 1 are rotationally in order to correlate a decrease in thecurrent sent to the motor 43 with the position of the door 1. Thisinformation may be used to program the door 1 to compensate forgravitational pull.

When the door has unwound and reached the closed position (S15), theswitch 62 will trigger to indicate that the door 1 is closed (S16). Thetriggered switch 62 will then activate the solenoid 55 to lock thesegmented door 1 (S17) and contact the gear head 3 and direct it to stoprotating. At this point, the gear head 3 stops (S18) and the process iscomplete. However, if the motor 43 stops generating current from itsdownward movement and the switch 62 indicating the closed position hasnot been triggered, this will indicate a position in which the segmenteddoor 1 has stopped moving downwardly prior to the closed position, suchas when there is an object, like the pet, in the door opening 37preventing the door 1 from closing. In such a situation, the motor 43will be triggered to open the door 1. The door 1 may fully open andattempt to close again according to the same process as above. Thisauto-retract feature helps prevent the pet from getting pinched or stuckin the pet door system. The door may alternatively include other sensorscapable of detecting an obstruction, such as mechanical or opticalsensors.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of the control panel 70 on the petdoor system. The pet door system can include a control panel, such asthe one shown in FIG. 7, in order to allow the user to control variousaspects of the pet door system. For example, the control panel 70 mayinclude an on/off button 71 to turn the pet door system on and off andan open button 72 to allow the user to directly open the door 1. Byholding the open button 72, or in some embodiments by holding the openbutton 72 in combination with another button, the user can open the door1 such that it stays open until the user presses the open button 72again, allowing the user to open the door 1 for extended periods oftime. The control panel 70 can also include a pair button 77. The pairbutton 77, when pressed, allows the pet door system to read theidentification information of a transmitter worn by a pet, such as a petcollar, that is in range and pairs that pet collar with the pet doorsystem such that the pet door system will operate to open and close thedoor 1 in response to a signal by that pet collar. The pet door systemmay be capable of pairing with multiple transmitters worn by pets toallow the pet door 1 to open for more than one pet. The control panel 70may also include addition buttons or means, or may be programmed suchthat a combination of buttons or means, allows the user to turn on andoff pair mode. With pair mode on, the pet door system will only open forthose transmitters paired with the pet door system. With pair mode off,the door 1 will open for any ultrasonic signal (or radio or magneticsignal in other embodiments) within range of the sensors 60. Additionalbuttons or means, or a combination of buttons or other means, may alsobe used to allow the user to control the amount of any predeterminedtime for which the door 1 will remain open after the sensors 60 lose thesignal, as discussed with respect to FIG. 6 above.

The control panel 70 may include switches and/or dials to control therange of the sensors 60. For example, the control panel 70 may includean inside sensor 73 and range dial 74 for the inside sensor 73. Theinside sensor 73, as part of the sensors 60, detects the signal outputby the transmitter worn by the pet using the pet door system on one sideof the door 1. By adjusting the dial 74, the user can control the rangeof the inside sensor 73, thus controlling the distance from the door 1at which the operation of the door may be triggered. An outside sensor75 and a range dial 76 may perform the same functions as the insidesensor 73 and range dial 74 for the opposite side of the door 1, theoutside sensor 75 also being a part of the sensors 60.

Additional buttons, switches, dials, electronics, software or othermeans 79 may be included in the control panel 70 to provide the userwith additional controls for the pet door system. In some embodiments,the control panel 70 may also include buttons, switches, dialselectronics, software or other means to allow the pet door system to beconnected and remotely controlled from a remote and/or mobile device 80,such as a smartphone, for example, by using an application on the remoteand/or mobile device. In some embodiments, the control panel 70 caninclude a remote button 78 that allows the pet door system to connect toand be controlled by the remote device 80.

The remote device 80 may be connected to the pet door system viaBluetooth, Wifi, or similar signals capable of connecting the remotedevice 80 to the pet door system. With the remote button 78 engaged, theremote device 80 will override any local settings that were set at thecontrol panel 70 and the pet door system will instead be controlled atthe remote device 80. When the remote button 78 is not engaged, thelocal settings will control. The remote device 80 may have anapplication that allows the user to control various features/aspects ofthe pet door system, including those features/aspects of the pet doorsystem controlled by the control panel 70, for example, the opening andclosing of the door 1. The remote device 80, in particular where theremote device 80 is a smart phone or similar device capable ofhigh-speed, complex processing, may also include additionalfunctionalities. For example, the remote device 80 may allow the user tocontrol the times of day in which the pet door system is operational,limiting the times of day in which pets may open the door 1 and enter orexit the house, for example, by activating or deactivating a lockingmechanism on the pet door system (see, for example, the lockingmechanism described with respect to FIG. 5 above). The remote device 80may keep a record of the number of times a specific transmitter, andthus a specific pet, enters and exits through the pet door and at whattime, based on the activation of the inside and outside sensors 60 andthe operation of the pet door system. Various functionalities may beincorporated to allow the user to have detailed control over the petdoor system and to be provided detailed statistics regarding itsoperation.

FIG. 8 illustrates a partially cut-away perspective view of a secondembodiment of the pet door system. The pet door system includes asegmented door 201 that comprises multiple individual door segments 202.The individual door segments 202 can be the same as the door segments 2or 102 as described with respect to FIGS. 2A-3B above. However, theorientation of the door segments 202 in the second embodiment may beinverted compared to the orientation of the door segments 2, 102, asshown and described with respect to FIG. 9. The segmented door 201 ishoused in a casing 207 along with all other elements of the pet doorsystem. In this embodiment, the casing 207 surrounds the entiresegmented door 201. However, in other embodiments, the casing 207 mayonly partially surround the door 201. The casing 207 includes at leastone frame or bezel 209 that attaches to at least one side of a door orwall of a building (e.g., as the door or wall of a house or apartment)and the bezel 209 can be attached to the door or wall via an attachmentmeans, such as screws 212. The bezel 209 defines a door opening 237 intowhich the segmented door 201 is movably mounted. The segmented door 201acts as a flap and can move in and out of the plane of the casing 207 toallow entry or exit of a pet.

The inside surface of the casing 207 that surrounds the door opening 237can be lined with a seal 260, for example a felt seal, to prevent orreduce air from traversing between the segmented door 201 and the casing207 for insulation, to reduce noise from traversing from one side of thedoor 201 to the other and/or to prevent the segmented door 201 fromrubbing against the casing 207. In other embodiments, the seal 260 mayinstead include Teflon pads.

As shown in FIG. 10, the casing 207 may include a locking mechanism 270that functions to lock a bottom segment 202 b of the segmented door 201in order to lock the segmented door 201. In this embodiment, the bottomsegment 202 b includes a rod 271 that is spring biased by spring 272 toremain inside the bottom segment 202 b until acted upon by the lockingmechanism 270. As shown, the rod 271 is encircled by the spring 272 andthe spring 272 is located between a retaining ring 273 and internalwalls 274 and 275 of the bottom segment 202 b. The retaining ring 273may be seated in a groove in the rod 271 in order to attach theretaining ring 273 to the rod 271. At one end of the rod 271 is a rack276 and pinion 277 that form the locking mechanism 270. The rack 276 canbe preferably substantially cylindrical in shape and can pass throughopenings in the casing 207, the felt seal 260 and the end cap 250 tocontact the rod 271. At the other end of the rod 271 is a recess 279 inthe casing 207 that is shaped to accommodate the end of the rod 271 whenacted upon by the locking mechanism 270.

The locking mechanism 270 may be operated by a user turning the handle280 (shown in FIG. 8), which is mechanically connected to the lockingmechanism 270. When the handle 280 is turned in a clockwise direction,for example, the pinion 277 rotates causing an end 278 of the rack 276to contact the rod 271 and push the rod 271 into the recess 279 of thecasing 207, allowing the door 1 to be locked on one side of the door bythe rack 276 and the other side by the rod 271, thus locking thesegmented door 1. A set screw 281 can be included adjacent the rack 276to prevent the rack 276 from being detached from the pinion 277 if auser attempts to turn the handle 280 past the locked position. Inaddition, the locking mechanism 270 may also include a spring-loaded orball detent to help hold the locking mechanism 270 in place when it isin the locked position.

In other embodiments, the pet door system may include any other suitablelocking mechanism to lock the segmented door 201 in the closed positionin order to prevent or hinder intruders from forcing the door 201 open.The locking mechanism may be, for example, a solenoid control, anelectromechanical lock, or another mechanical lock that locks thesegmented door 201 when the door 201 is at the bottom of the dooropening 237 (i.e., in the closed position). The locking mechanism may bemanually engaged by a human or may be remotely controlled by atransmitter, such as a mobile phone or a pet worn transmitter.

In the segmented door 201, each individual segment 202 may include endcaps 250 that can be attached to respective side ends of the individualsegments 202 after the individual segments 202 are connected to form thesegmented door 1. The end caps 250 may be the same or substantially thesame as the ends caps 50 and 150 described with respect to FIGS. 2D and3B, respectively. A topmost segment 202 a of the segments 202, shown inFIG. 9, may not include an end cap 250 but may instead be connected tothe casing 207 via a rod and/or screws to fixedly attach the segmenteddoor 201 to the casing 207. For example, screws or a rod can beinstalled into a hollow portion 236 of a projection 224 of the topmostdoor segment 202 a to attach the segmented door 201 to the casing 207.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, individual segments 202 may include magnets261, such as disk magnets, that correspond to complementary magnets 262,such as complementary disk magnets, in the casing 207. The disk magnets261 may be housed in a hollow channel 203 of the individual segments202. The disk magnets 261 of the door 201 interact with the disk magnets262 in the casing 207 to hold the segmented door 201 in the plane of thecasing 207 when the door 201 is not in use by the pet. The interactionof the disk magnets 261 and 262 provides sufficient force to hold thedoor 201 in the closed position, for example, against the force of thewind, but is easily overcome by the force of a small animal pressingagainst the door 201 to allow it to pass through the door opening 237.Each individual segment 202 may include a disk magnet 261 with a line ofdisk magnets 262 aligned within the casing 207 to correspond to the diskmagnets 261. However, in some embodiments, each segment 202 need notinclude a disk magnet 261. For example, disk magnets 261 may be includedin a subset of the individual segments 202 spaced throughout thevertical length of the door 201, with corresponding disk magnets 262 inthe casing 207, as long as the number of disk magnets 261, 262 providesufficient force to maintain the segmented door 201 in the closedposition when the pet door system is not in use and allow the door 201to open when a pet pushes on it. For example, every second or thirdindividual segment 202 may include a disk magnet 261, with the casing207 having corresponding disk magnets 262 aligned with those diskmagnets 261. The force created by the interaction between the diskmagnets 261 and 262 should not be so strong that the pet cannot push thesegmented door 201 open.

Additional bottom magnets 263 may be included in the bottom segment 202b of the door 201 and corresponding complementary bottom magnets 264 maybe included in the casing 207 adjacent the bottom segment 202 b in orderto provide additional force to hold the bottom of the door 201 in theclosed position, for example, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The bottommagnets 263, 264 may be spaced across the bottom of the door 201 toprovide substantially equal force across the bottom of the door 201.Like the disk magnets 261, 262, the interaction of the bottom magnets263 and 264 should provide sufficient force to hold the door 201 in theclosed position, for example, against the force of the wind, but iseasily overcome by the force of a small animal pressing against the door201 to allow it to pass through the door opening 237. The additionalbottom magnets 263, 264 may aid in aligning the door for locking with alocking mechanism positioned at the bottom of the door 201, such as thelocking mechanism 270.

In use, the pet door system of the second embodiment is a simplenon-motorized door that allows a pet to enter and exit through the doorby pushing the segmented door 201 so that the magnetic force between thedisk magnets 261 and 262 breaks and the segmented door 201 flaps open. Auser may also lock the segmented door 201 in a closed position with thelocking mechanism 270 to prevent the door 201 from opening.

Any features of embodiments of the invention described as includingswitches, buttons, or likewise can be instead buttons, switches, dialsor other means within the scope of the invention. Also, like referencenumbers refer to like elements throughout.

While the present invention has been described in connection withcertain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is instead intended tocover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included withinthe spirit and scope of the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.

1. A pet door system comprising: a casing configured to attach the petdoor system to a building; and a segmented door attached to the casing,wherein the segmented door comprises a plurality of interlockingsegments that are rotatable with respect to each other, wherein thesegmented door is movable into and out of a plane of the casing. 2.-5.(canceled)
 6. The pet door system of claim 1, wherein each segment ofthe plurality of interlocking segments includes end caps configured toprevent the plurality of interlocking segments from moving laterallywith respect to each other.
 7. A pet door system comprising: a casingconfigured to attach the pet door system to a building; a segmented doorattached to the casing, wherein the segmented door comprises a pluralityof interlocking segments that are rotatable with respect to each other;a rotating cylinder attached to the segmented door; a motor configuredto rotate the rotating cylinder, wherein the motor is rotatable in afirst direction to wind the segmented door around the rotating cylinder;and a locking mechanism comprising a shaft configured to extend betweenthe casing and a recess in one of the plurality of interlocking segmentsto lock the segmented door.
 8. The pet door system of claim 7, wherein,when the segmented door is wound around the rotating cylinder, the motoris rotatable in a second direction to unwind the segmented door from therotating cylinder.
 9. The pet door system of claim 7, wherein therotating cylinder has a partially spiral shape to facilitate winding ofthe segmented door around the rotating cylinder.
 10. (canceled)
 11. Thepet door system of claim 7, further comprising a guide to guide thesegmented door when it is being wound around the rotating cylinder. 12.The pet door system of claim 7, wherein the casing comprises guidinggrooves to guide the segmented door in the casing when the segmenteddoor is being wound around or unwound from the rotating cylinder. 13.(canceled)
 14. The pet door system of claim 1, further comprising a sealaround a periphery of the segmented door.
 15. The pet door system ofclaim 1, wherein the casing comprises magnets that correspond to magnetsat the segmented door and wherein the magnets of the casing and themagnets of the segmented door interact to hold the segmented door in aclosed position.
 16. The pet door system of claim 1, further comprisinga locking mechanism to lock the segmented door in a closed position.17.-19. (canceled)
 20. A method of using a motorized pet door system,the pet door system comprising a segmented door having a plurality ofinterlocking segments that are rotatable with respect to each other, arotating cylinder attached to the segmented door, a motor configured torotate the rotating cylinder and one or more sensors on the pet doorsystem configured to detect a signal, the method comprising: detectingthe signal at the sensors; activating the motor to rotate the rotatingcylinder; rotating the rotating cylinder to wind the segmented dooraround the rotating cylinder and to open the segmented door; activatingthe motor to rotate the rotating cylinder in a second direction;rotating the rotating cylinder to unwind the segmented door and to closethe door; and impeding a counter electromagnetic force generated by themotor when the door is acted on by the force of gravity. 21.-23.(canceled)
 24. The pet door system of claim 14, wherein the plurality ofinterlocking segments is rigid in a horizontal direction and thehorizontal rigidity of the plurality of interlocking segments isconfigured to apply compressive force to the seal.
 25. The pet doorsystem of claim 15, wherein the magnets at the segmented door are withinhollow portions of the plurality of interlocking segments; and themagnets in the casing are vertically aligned and are configured to causethe magnets within hollow portions of the plurality of interlockingsegments to align vertically when the door is closed.
 26. The pet doorsystem of claim 15, wherein the magnets at the segmented door arelocated at a bottom segment of the plurality of interlocking segments.27. The pet door system of claim 16, wherein the locking mechanismcomprises a shaft configured to extend between the casing and a recessof one of the plurality of interlocking segments to lock the segmenteddoor.
 28. A method of using a motorized pet door system, the pet doorsystem comprising a segmented door having a plurality of interlockingsegments that are rotatable with respect to each other, a rotatingcylinder attached to the segmented door, a motor configured to rotatethe rotating cylinder, and one or more sensors to detect when thesegmented door is in a closed position, the method comprising:activating the motor to rotate the rotating cylinder; rotating therotating cylinder to wind the segmented door around the rotatingcylinder and to open the segmented door; activating the motor to rotatethe rotating cylinder in a second direction; rotating the rotatingcylinder to unwind the segmented door; detecting a current generated bythe motor when the rotating cylinder is rotating to unwind the segmenteddoor; detecting whether the door is in the closed position; andactivating the motor and rotating the rotating cylinder to open thesegmented door when the current is not detected and the door is not inthe closed position.